


All nighter, you and me. First one to fall asleep buys the other dinner.

by ShyVioletCat



Series: Nessian Drabbles [2]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Written Pre-ACoWaR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-09 20:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20516024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyVioletCat/pseuds/ShyVioletCat
Summary: WRITTEN PRE-ACOWAR





	All nighter, you and me. First one to fall asleep buys the other dinner.

Cassian had noticed that Nesta wasn’t sleeping.

She would stay up reading or doing menial tasks long after everyone else had gone to bed. Cassian only knew because he saw her when he wandered the house to relieve the aches in his wings. His wings had healed enough that visually the only thing different were the thin scars that now peppered the thin membrane. But on the inside, in a more physical sense, they were almost utterly unusable. At the moment he could only fly for five minutes, if he was lucky.

Cassian also knew it was nightmares that kept her awake. Because some nights he would find her sprawled on the couch, book fallen from her hands, and her brow would be furrowed and eyelids fluttering. It was in those moments that Cassian would take one of her slender hands in his and softly murmur her name. If she came close to waking he would flee like a coward, but Cassian knew it would crush Nesta to know someone had seen her so vulnerable.

Tonight though Cassian was the one staying up. Rhys had given him a task that was both extensive and urgent. With Feyre feeding more and more information to Azriel’s contacts and the battle with Hybern looming closer and closer, they needed every soldier that they could get. That included the female Illyrian’s. Rhys needed Cassian to come up with training regimes and incentives and just about everything else related to the matter. Immediately.

So now he sat in one of the large sitting rooms in the House of Wind on a couch in front of the fire, papers in his lap going over and adding to them. He hadn’t chosen this particular room by chance. This was the one that Nesta most often ended up in.

A little while later an incredulous snort announced Nesta’s arrival. She ignored him, really Cassian was surprised that she didn’t turn in the other direction and walk out. But she didn’t. Nesta just ignored Cassian completely and sat in an arm chair, facing away from him a book in her hand. Cassian let out a heavy sigh. She didn’t react, just kept her concentration on the book. Cassian sighed again dramatically and Nesta barely turned her head. Cassian took in a deep breath to sigh again but before he could a cold sharp voice stopped him.

“Don’t.”

Cassian smiled, “Whatever do you mean?”

“I know you’re there,” there was something hollow in Nesta’s voice that made the smile fall from his face, “so I don’t need you reminding me.”

“What else am I supposed to do when you choose to ignore me anyway?”

“You could leave,” Nesta’s voice was sharp as an Illyrian blade.

“Communal space Sweetheart. You can’t claim this entire room.”

Nesta sent a vulgar gesture halfheartedly over her shoulder and Cassian gave a small chuckle. But he knew something was wrong here, but he wasn’t sure how to get Nesta to talk about it. Silence now spread between them, neither of them making any attempt to break it. Cassian wanted to say something, broach this space between them, but when they spoke it was aggressive as they tore strips from each other. But now was not the time for that. If Cassian’s wings were… were what they had been, he would take her flying. Take her out into the open air and let her breathe in the sheer amount of space that flying gave him. The cold night air, the space, the freedom always made him feel better. But two minutes of flying, that would just be pathetic.

A heavy sigh made its way past Cassian’s lips and and Nesta’s head snapped up. Cassian quickly shut his mouth when he realised his mistake. He chanced a look at her face, well what he could see from where he sat, and even from his restricted view he could see her signature steely expression once again graced her face.

“Just so you know that sigh was entirely for my benefit,” Cassian said quickly.

“What possible benefits do you get from sighing?” Nesta asked.

“Well, it releases tension,” Cassian explained. “My thoughts had led to to a issue that I currently have no power to resolve. So the sigh…”

“I got it Cassian,” Nesta snapped, but it still seemed to lack its usual bite.

“Can’t say all my tension was released though,” Cassian said with a smirk. “Care to help me out with the rest?”

Nesta snorted, “You’re a pig.”

“Best looking pig you’ve ever seen. Am I right?”

“You are ridiculous.”

Cassian chuckled. Here they were. Where they always were. They we at that impasse where Cassian was willing to give everything but Nesta was going to accept nothing. Cassian sighed again.

Nesta snapped her book shut and turned to face Cassian fully now. She scowled at him and Cassian just gave her a feral grin. All Nesta did was roll her eyes.

What surprised Cassian was what came out of her mouth next.

“What are you doing?”

Cassian took a moment to fully process not only what Nesta had said it, but the way she said it. The edge was gone from her voice, the fight. Cassian thought that maybe Nesta was genuinely curious and maybe she wasn’t looking for a fight for once. He shuffled his papers and and sat a little straighter before he cleared his throat.

“Rhys wants me to figure out what to do with the Illyrian females. We’re having issues making sure they’re getting trained, those who have their wings clipped and those who don’t. The issue we’re having is that even those who want to fight are being held back.”

Cassian watched Nesta’s face as he explained his task and saw the way anger etched its way into her features. He had told Nesta of the plights of the female Illyrian’s before and she had been thoroughly disgusted. She surprised him further when she stood and walked towards him and sat at the other end of the couch. Far enough away that there was a healthy distant between them and she curled her knees to her chest.

“Can I help?” Nesta asked quietly.

Cassian just about fell of his chair.

Cassian nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically, “Sure, but Rhys wants this sorted as soon as possible so I was going to stay up for a while.”

Nesta just shrugged as if to say she wouldn’t be doing anything better with her time anyway.

~~~~~

An hour or so later Cassian’s eyes were stinging and he had stifled more than one yawn. He could also see that Nesta was fighting back sleep as well, but when Nesta told something to stay away it did. Well, everything except Cassian. But he had his reasons.

“I don’t know why this is taking you so long,” Nesta said as she looked down at his notes, “you’ve had to train without wings for months.”

Cassian knew she was just stating facts, but regardless the words still stung. And the words that he said next came out with a little more fire than he intended.

“Because, Sweetheart, that’s not what I’m working in at the moment.” Cassian’s wings ruffled a little in frustration which only caused him to wince.

Nesta just watched him the whole time, grey-blue eyes critical and demanding answers.

“Right now,” Cassian continued, “I’m working on figuring out ways for make sure that the females do get trained.”

“Why am I looking at this then?” Nesta asked shaking the paper in front of her. “I don’t know anything about what training Illyrian warriors.”

“To make sure it makes sense,” Cassian supplied.

“I’m your proof-reader?!” Nesta exclaimed. Then she snatched the papers that Cassian held in his lap and practically threw down the ones that she held in her hand in their place. “If I’m going to help you give me something constructive to do.”

Cassian just watched the whole thing unfold in front of him before he spoke, “Because you obviously have so much experience and knowledge about getting Illyrian Lords to do what you want?”

Nesta shot him a glare. “Males are males. They all work the same. And seeming as you’ve been trying for years and nothing has changed, maybe it needs a set of fresh eyes.”

It was a decent argument and Cassian didn’t fight it because, although he would never admit it, he was indeed out of ideas. But he had also barely touched these training regimes, they were very basic and would do great for the first few weeks but beyond that… He was in for a very long night. He watched Nesta study the pages in front of her, pen tapping against her lip as she went over the words.

Then, maybe because Cassian was over tired or because he was foolish, he said, “Why don’t we make this interesting? All nighter, you and me. First one to fall asleep buys the other dinner.”

Nesta didn’t even look up before she quipped, “Is that the only way you can get a date Cassian? By making bets?”

“I never said anything about a date Sweetheart,” Cassian threw all the swaggering arrogance he could into his voice. “Is there something you want to ask me?”

Nesta just shook her head.

“Nesta, clearly your mind is circling around certain ideas if that’s the conclusion you jumped to. I…”

“Fine, whatever,” Nesta said, still looking down at the pages in front of her. “Just shut up.”

~~~~~

Nesta fell asleep first. Out of the corner of his eye Cassian had watched Nesta slowly slump further and further down on the couch, head nodding to the side every so often. Now she was curled on her side, legs stretched out a little so that her feet almost touched him. Nesta had lost the bet, she would have to buy him dinner.

Realising that he had read the same three sentences over again for the third time but they still made no sense Cassian put down his papers on the floor beside the couch. The dilemma he now faced was if he should tell Nesta that she had lost and that she owed him dinner. She would likely spit fire and curse his name into eternity if he did. But maybe, just maybe, if he lied and and told her that he had fallen asleep first she would agree to dinner as she gloated in a small triumph over him.

As Cassian settled into the couch to make his deception believable he smiled to himself. He was hopeful and was looking forward to his dinner with Nesta Archeron.


End file.
